Ukraine's Minister of Defense: There are 37,000 Ukrainian soldiers at the front line in the Donbas

Presently, there are thirty-seven thousand Ukrainian soldiers at the front line in the Donbas, according to Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, the website of the Ministry reports.

Poltorak claims that the rest of the staff are on combat duty, in training centers, at the training sites and in the classrooms where the soldiers are learning from experience gained and making conclusions."

"We are able to defend Ukraine and fulfill all the tasks facing the Armed Forces. The evidence of this is the 72nd brigade and other units, which showed in Avdiivka that they know how to fight and that they are ready to give their life and sacrifice health for the sake of the country." Poltorak said.

In 2017, brigade live-fire exercises in Ukraine will involve about 80,000 reservists, twice the number of forces from last year.